Ankle Injuries, Imaging and Prevention Program Effectiveness in New Army Recruits

University of Haifa

Status: Completed

Conditions: Ankle Sprains

Treatments: Other: excercises

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06469099

231/22

Details and patient eligibility

About

Infantry recruits will undergo a musculoskeletal examination to assess tendon, muscle, proprioception, agility, and joint status. Afterward, an exercise intervention program will be implemented, followed by a concluding evaluation.

Full description

Purpose: To evaluate ankle injuries in new infantry recruits, including their characteristics, association with imaging and functional measures, and the effectiveness of a preventive exercise program.

Methods: 650 new male infantry soldiers aged 18-23 will be recruited to participate in the study at the beginning of their military training. At the beginning and the end of the training (after approximately six months), the soldiers will be assessed for the following: 1. Demographics (height, weight, leg length, BMI calculation), 2. Proprioception ability (Active Movement Extent Discrimination Apparatus AMEDA), 3. Dynamic balance (Y-Balance Test YBT), 4. Leg muscle strength (bilateral heel rise test), 5. Hip strength (hand-held dynamometer), 6. Ankle agility (hexagon agility hop test), 7. Ankle stability (Anterior Drawer Test, musculoskeletal ultrasound for the Anterior Talofibular Ligament), 8. Achilles tendon structure (Ultrasound tissue Characterization UTC), 9. Aerobic ability (3000 meters run, will be recorded by the fitness instructors at the training base). In addition, the soldiers will fill out a previous ankle sprains questionnaire, pre-induction physical activity questionnaire, the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool (CAIT) for ankle perceived instability, and the Ankle Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (ankle-FABQ).

The soldiers will perform a constructed ankle sprain prevention program for five minutes every day during the six-month length of the study. Every 1-2 weeks, the researcher will arrive at the training base to monitor ankle injuries. Those who are diagnosed with a sprain will undergo ultrasound evaluations, which will be performed every few weeks.

Enrollment: 786 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 18 to 22 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• soldiers ages 18-22

Exclusion criteria

• knows disease of the bones
• before orthopedic surgery

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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786 participants in 2 patient groups

research group

Experimental group

Description:

active exercises for few weeks

Treatment:

Other: excercises

control

No Intervention group

Description:

control group - no intervention, continue their routine